Expectations
by TwistedSky
Summary: She hadn't meant for things to turn out this way, but she was glad they had. Tina/Mike. Inspired by the 'hook-ups' promo.


I disclaim. The "hook-ups" promo inspired me. Tina/Mike.

* * *

She'd never meant for it to get this far.

Before, she'd been so in love with Artie-he was the first boy she'd ever been with, the first she'd ever kissed. Things had been so sweet and lovely . . . And _nice_. Sure, they'd had problems when he'd discovered that she'd faked her stutter, and that had changed their relationship-disconnecting their previous emotional bond. But they had moved on from that, creating a new bond.

Things between them had not been sunshine and daisies, but still-Tina hadn't expected it to end this way.

She'd never understood what people meant when they said that they loved someone, but they just weren't in love with them anymore. But now she did.

She didn't like herself for it, but she'd started to drift away from him long before the summer after their first year in New Directions. That summer her mother had made it easy for her to avoid him too. Her mother had decided that she should get more 'in touch' with her Asian roots. So here she was, learning about calligraphy and studying various cultural ways of life. With Mike Chang as her tutor. How her mother had chosen him, of all people, befuddled her. But her mother thought Mike could make it more 'accessible' than some random old Chinese man or woman.

Of all people, her mother had chosen _Mike Chang_-who apparently was very in touch with his cultural roots, unlike her-and she didn't know how to deal with him.

Mike made her uncomfortable-he was a talented dancer and his easy grace made him incredibly sexy. That acknowledgment shamed her. Mike was actually a sweet guy, and his natural shyness-which made no sense considering that he was a football player(which it still surprised her that he was, since he didn't seem the type)-was actually kind of amazing.

Damn it.

Today was as bad as all of the others-so far they'd had weekly lessons for the past four weeks.

Today things changed.

He was attractive, and his shirt was unbuttoned. And they were talking, about something completely innocuous when suddenly they just stopped.

They stared at each other. They locked eyes and an intense burst of energy spurted between them.

In that moment, she wanted him.

In that moment, he wanted her.

They jumped at each other-she went up into his arms, her own arms wrapped around the back of his head, so that she could hold onto him.

She slammed comfortably into him, and his arms came down around her at the small of her back.

They kissed-and it was unlike anything she'd experienced.

With Artie-everything had been nice and soft.

With Mike-everything was passion and fire, with an underlying sweetness that enveloped her.

With Artie, it felt nice.

With Mike, it felt _right_.

If she had been capable of thought, she might have started to hate herself, or feel dirty. But at that point she couldn't.

He pulled away first. They both gasped for air.

They stared at each other, and Mike took a step backward, as if he were afraid of kissing her again.

Finally, he spoke.

"I don't want to be that guy, Tina. And I don't want to make you that girl."

Tina wanted to faint from exhilaration.

"I-I have to go."

Mike nodded, as if he had expected her to say that, which he had.

* * *

_She hadn't expected this._ She hadn't expected to kiss Mike.

She wasn't a fool-she didn't believe that she'd fallen in love with Mike-but she felt something, a _spark_.

She had to break up with Artie.

When she went to see him, it was written all over her face.

"Artie, I-we need to talk," she said softly.

Artie searched her face. "Oh." He knew what she was going to say.

"I-I love you Artie. But I-"

"You're not in love with me anymore." He looked sad and heartbroken-yet resigned, as if he knew that it would come to this, and he had prepared himself for it, but had not quite believed it would really happen- but there was nothing she could do to comfort him. She attempted to give him a hug, but he pulled away from her.

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. Is it . . . someone else?"

Tina didn't know how to answer. "Yes and no."

Even if it weren't for Mike, she still wouldn't be in love with Artie anymore.

"I hope he treats you well."

Tina felt tears coming. "Are we still . . . "

"Friends?" He sighed. "Yeah."

* * *

Love changes daily. People who fall out of love don't change together.

In high school, that's especially true. So much change occurs in short periods of time, sometimes without any warning at all. And emotions are messy and confusing, and rapidly shifting.

People fall in and out of love easily-because for the most part it's merely a bastardization of love that they feel in the first place. For the most part, that love was selfish and obsessive, shallow and lacking real substance.

_They say it's easy to fall in love, but hard to pick yourself back up._

_They _have no idea what they're talking about.

Love is _different_. Love is ever-changing. Love is inconsistent, and conditional.

Love is all-consuming, selfless. Love is empathetic and just.

Love is _life_.

Tina, in the course of a year, had fallen in love with Artie, fallen out of love with Artie, and found herself falling for Mike.

She'd been drifting away from Artie. And then, with a few sessions with Mike, she'd thrown herself at him. Quite literally.

Love didn't make sense to her.

Then again, when you're in the midst of it, it rarely does.

When it ends, it leaves you confused and aimless.

_She didn't know what to do now._

She'd broken up with Artie, and she didn't know what came next.

It would be insulting to both Artie and Mike for her to show up on Mike's doorstop right now. She needed to give everything time.

She didn't want to, but she did it anyway.

A week later, when she knocked on Mike's front door for her lesson she almost turned away and ran. He opened the door before she could do so.

"Hi."

"Hi." Mike opened the door so that she could enter.

"I-I broke up with Artie." Tina sputtered it out.

"Oh."

"Yeah. I just, I just wanted to tell you that. So that you don't feel bad about what happened last week."

"I don't."

Tina smiled nervously, "That's nice to know. So, um, what are we working on today?"

Mike just stared at her."Getting into the breathing of calligraphy and painting. You need to let the energy flow throughout your body, informing the movements onto the page."

He stood behind her, moving her arms, and trying to loosen her up. "What you need to do is breathe deeply and calmly-"

Tina turned around suddenly, and because of his nearness, was already in his arms.

They went at each other like animals, again.

And yet-this kiss lacked guilt and wrongness.

This was untainted. And beautiful.

They broke apart.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

They exchanged a smile, and got back to the lesson.

She hadn't meant for things to turn out this way, but she was glad they had.

_Love, in its inconsistent and ever-changing ways, still supersedes every other emotion worth feeling.  
_

_

* * *

_It's complete sap. But I had to write it. Review?_  
_


End file.
